Portable Electronic Device Having an Antenna System with a Non-Resonating Structure

ABSTRACT

An antenna system for reception and transmission of radio frequency (RF) signals and a method for tuning the antenna system are provided. The antenna system includes a ground plane, a first element and a second element. The first element includes a driven unbalanced antenna element that resonates within at least one predetermined first frequency band to transmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals modulated at one or more frequencies within the at least one predetermined first frequency band. The second element is non-resonating within the at least one predetermined first frequency band and is located within an antenna volume of the first element to create a partial loop response within the antenna volume of the first element by capacitively coupling to the first element when connected to the ground plane.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/645,038 entitled “Antenna System with Non-Resonating Structure” filedon Dec. 22, 2009 by Vijay Asrani, Adrian Napoles, and Louis Vannatta.This related application is assigned to the assignee of the presentapplication and is hereby incorporated here in its entirety by thisreference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure generally relates to portable electronic devices withradio frequency (RF) antenna systems, and more particularly relates toRF antenna systems for portable communication devices that include anon-resonating structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The radio frequency (RF) transmissions of some portable communicationdevices, such as some cellular telephones, can interfere with a user'shearing aid. Such interference may cause an annoying and/or painfulbuzzing noise. In some countries, governmental design constraints havebeen or are being proposed for the RF transmissions of portablecommunication devices to exhibit reduced electric field and magneticfield behavior near an earpiece of the portable communication device toreduce such interference.

In the United States, for example, the American National StandardsInstitute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee C63 on ElectromagneticCompatibility has defined standard ANSI C63.19 to establishcompatibility between hearing aids and portable communication devicessuch as cellular telephones. ANSI C63.19 specifies that the RFtransmissions of a portable communication device must have particularcharacteristics in the area of the portable communication device'searpiece (i.e., approximately where a person's hearing aid would belocated). More particularly, ANSI C63.19 specifies that the electricfield and magnetic field generated by portable communication device RFtransmissions conform to certain characteristics proximate the portablecommunication device's earpiece. While the electric field and magneticfield proximate the portable communication device's earpiece can bedecreased by an overall reduction in the RF transmission electric andmagnetic fields, maintaining such reduced electric and magnetic fieldssignificantly impacts the transmission and reception efficiency of theportable communication device.

Thus, there is an opportunity to develop an RF antenna system for aportable communication device that produces reduced electric field andmagnetic field behavior near an earpiece thereof without significantlyimpacting the transmission and reception efficiency of the portablecommunication device. Furthermore, other desirable features andcharacteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detaileddescription and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and this background of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which together with the detailed description below are incorporatedin and form part of the specification, serve to illustrate variousembodiments and to explain various principles and advantages inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 1A is a right planar view of a conventional portable communicationdevice of FIG. 1A depicting the spatial location of the AmericanNational Standards Institute (ANSI) C63.19 measurement grid.

FIG. 1B is a front planar view of an earpiece of the conventionalportable communication device of FIG. 1A with an overlay of the ANSIC63.19 measurement grid.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a portable communication device includingan antenna system in accordance with a first embodiment;

FIG. 2B is a right front top perspective view of a portablecommunication device as held during use in accordance with the firstembodiment;

FIG. 3A is a rear planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 2B depicting an antenna system in accordance with thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a bottom planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 2B depicting the antenna system of FIG. 3A in accordancewith the first embodiment;

FIG. 3C is a right rear bottom perspective cutaway view of the portablecommunication device of FIG. 2B depicting the antenna system of FIG. 3Ain accordance with the first embodiment;

FIG. 3D is a rear planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 2B depicting the antenna system of FIG. 3A in accordancewith the first embodiment;

FIG. 4A is an electric field gradient diagram of a normalized radiationpattern of a baseline antenna system for transmitting and receivingradio frequency (RF) at or around 1900 MHz;

FIG. 4B is a magnetic field gradient diagram of the normalized radiationpattern of a baseline antenna system for transmitting and receivingradio frequency (RF) at or around 1900 MHz;

FIG. 5 is an electric field gradient diagram of the balanced antennaresponse for transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) at oraround 1900 MHz of the antenna system of FIG. 3A in accordance with thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 6A is an electric field gradient diagram of the composite balancedand unbalanced antenna response for transmitting and receiving radiofrequency (RF) at or around 1900 MHz of the antenna system of FIG. 3A inaccordance with the first embodiment;

FIG. 6B is a magnetic field gradient diagram of the composite antennaresponse for transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) at oraround 1900 MHz of the antenna system of FIG. 3A in accordance with thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a graph of free space return loss of the baseline antennasystem having the electromagnetic field gradient response of FIGS. 4Aand 4B and the antenna system in accordance with the first embodimenthaving the electromagnetic field gradient response of FIGS. 6A and 6B;

FIG. 8A is a rear planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 2 depicting an antenna system in accordance with a secondembodiment;

FIG. 8B is a bottom planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 2A depicting the antenna system of FIG. 8A in accordancewith the second embodiment;

FIG. 8C is a right rear bottom perspective cutaway view of the portablecommunication device of FIG. 2A depicting the antenna system of FIG. 8Ain accordance with the second embodiment;

FIG. 9A is a rear planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 2 depicting an antenna system in accordance with a thirdembodiment;

FIG. 9B is a bottom planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 2 depicting the antenna system of FIG. 9A in accordancewith the third embodiment;

FIG. 9C is a front left bottom perspective cutaway view of the portablecommunication device of FIG. 2 depicting the antenna system of FIG. 9Ain accordance with the third embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a rear planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 2 depicting an antenna system in accordance with a fourthembodiment;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a portable communication device includingan antenna system in accordance with a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart depicting operation of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 11 in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the antennasystem depicted therein;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a portable communication device includingan antenna system in accordance with a sixth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart depicting operation of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 13 in accordance with the sixth embodiment of the antennasystem depicted therein;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a portable communication device includingan antenna in accordance with a seventh embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a front planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice of FIG. 15 depicting the antenna system in accordance with theseventh embodiment including an additional Bluetooth antenna element;

FIG. 17A is an electric field gradient diagram of a radiation pattern ofan antenna system for transmitting and receiving RF signals at or around1880 MHz without an additional Bluetooth antenna element;

FIG. 17B is a magnetic field gradient diagram of the radiation patternof the antenna system for transmitting and receiving RF signals at oraround 1880 MHz without the additional Bluetooth antenna element;

FIG. 18A is an electric field gradient diagram of the antenna responsefor transmitting and receiving RF signals at or around 1880 MHz of theantenna system of FIG. 16 in accordance with the seventh embodimentincluding the additional Bluetooth antenna element; and

FIG. 18B is a magnetic field gradient diagram of the composite antennaresponse for transmitting and receiving RF signals at or around 1880 MHzof the antenna system of FIG. 16 in accordance with the seventhembodiment including an additional Bluetooth antenna element.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure.

Before describing in detail embodiments that are in accordance with thepresent disclosure, it should be observed that the embodiments resideprimarily in combinations of apparatus components related to antennasystems. Accordingly, the apparatus components have been representedwhere appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing onlythose specific details that are pertinent to understanding theembodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure thedisclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An antenna system for transmission and reception of radio frequency (RF)signals includes a ground plane, a first element and a second element.The first element includes a driven unbalanced antenna element andresonates within at least one predetermined first frequency band totransmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals modulated at one ormore frequencies within the at least one predetermined first frequencyband. The second element is non-resonating within the at least onepredetermined first frequency band and is located within an antennavolume of the first element to create a partial loop response within theantenna volume of the first element by capacitively coupling to thefirst element when connected to the ground plane.

Further, a portable communication device is provided for transmissionand reception of radio frequency (RF) signals. The portable electronicdevice includes an earpiece speaker, an antenna system, transceivercircuitry, and a controller. The earpiece speaker receives electricalsignals and generates audio signals as audible output. The antennasystem includes a first element and a second element. The first elementof the antenna system includes a driven unbalanced antenna element andresonates within at least one predetermined first frequency band fortransmitting and receiving RF signals modulated at one or morefrequencies within the at least one predetermined first frequency band.The second element of the antenna system is non-resonating within the atleast one predetermined first frequency band and is located within anantenna volume of the first element to create a partial loop responsewithin the antenna volume when connected to the ground plane whilereducing electromagnetic fields of RF signals transmitted by the firstelement at locations proximate to the earpiece speaker. The transceivercircuitry is coupled to the antenna system and includes transmittercircuitry for modulating signals for transmission from the antennasystem as RF signals and receiver circuitry for demodulating RF signalsreceived by the antenna system to generate demodulated signals. Thecontroller is coupled to the transceiver circuitry for providing thesignals to the transmitter circuitry for modulation thereby and forreceiving the demodulated signals from the receiver circuitry. Thecontroller is also coupled to the earpiece speaker for providingelectrical signals to the earpiece speaker for generation of the audiosignals to be provided from the earpiece speaker.

In addition, a method is provided for tuning an antenna system thatincludes a ground plane, a first element and a second element tocommunicate within at least one predetermined frequency band. The firstelement includes a driven unbalanced antenna element resonating withinthe at least one predetermined first frequency band while the secondelement is non-resonating within the at least one predetermined firstfrequency band and is located within an antenna volume of the firstelement. The method includes the steps of connecting the second elementto the ground plane to create a partial loop response within the antennavolume of the first element when the first element transmits radiofrequency (RF) signals modulated at one or more frequencies within theat least one predetermined first frequency band, and disconnecting thesecond element from the ground plane when the first element is nottransmitting RF signals modulated at one or more frequencies within theat least one predetermined first frequency band.

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and isnot intended to limit the invention or the implementation and uses ofthe invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by anytheory presented in the preceding background of the disclosure or thedetailed description.

In the United States, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)Accredited Standards Committee C63 on Electromagnetic Compatibility hasdefined standard ANSI C63.19 to establish compatibility between hearingaids and portable communication devices such as cellular telephones.ANSI C63.19 specifies that the RF transmissions of a portablecommunication device must have particular characteristics in the area ofthe portable communication device's earpiece (i.e., approximately wherea person's hearing aid would be located during use of the portablecommunication device). More particularly, ANSI C63.19 specifies that theelectric field and magnetic field generated by portable communicationdevice RF transmissions conform to certain characteristics proximate theportable communication device's earpiece. Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B,the specifications of ANSI C63.19 are graphically depicted, where FIG.1A depicts a side planar view of an earpiece portion of a cellular phoneand FIG. 1B depicts a front planar view of the earpiece portion.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the side planar view 100 depicts an earpieceportion 102 of a cellular telephone 104 or other portable communicationdevice having a housing 106. A display 107, keys of a keypad 108 and amicrophone portion 109 of the cellular telephone 104 are also mounted onthe housing 106. A reference plane 110 is depicted perpendicular to andon the earpiece portion 102. A measurement plane 120 is proscribedfifteen millimeters above the reference plane 110. Measurements of theelectric field and magnetic field of RF transmission of the cellulartelephone 104 are taken in the measurement plane 120 to determinehearing aid compatibility in compliance with ANSI C63.19.

FIG. 1B depicts a front planar view 150 of the cellular telephone 104shown in FIG. 1A including a view of the earpiece portion 102 and a fivecentimeter by five centimeter control area 155 in the measurement plane120. The control area 155 is centered over an earpiece speaker locatedbehind a housing opening in the earpiece portion 102 such that acenterline 160 of the control area 155 is located above a centerline ofthe earpiece portion 102. The control area 155 is divided into nineequal compliance areas 165 and the compliance of the cellular telephone104 is determined by measuring the electric and magnetic fields of theRF emissions in each of the compliance areas 165 when the cellulartelephone 104 is transmitting (i.e., the electric and magnetic fields ofthe RF transmissions). In accordance with the ANSI C63.19 standardmeasurement scheme, up to three exclusion blocks are allowed permeasurement, with the restrictions that the center compliance area 175cannot be excluded and at least one of the excluded compliance areas iscommonly excluded for both the electric and magnetic field compliancedeterminations. Thus, if at least six of the nine compliance areas 165(including the center compliance area 175) are in compliance for eachmeasurement, then the cellular telephone 104 is determined to becompliant with the ANSI C63.19 standard.

Portable communication devices, such as cellular telephones, utilizeantenna systems for receiving and transmitting radio frequency (RF)signals in various RF bands such as cellular or Bluetooth RF bands.Conventional dipole and loop antennas have minimum coupling onto theportable communication device's chassis and provide balanced RF driving.Due to the low coupling fields on the chassis, such conventional dipoleand loop antennas are readily hearing aid compliant (i.e., compliantwith the ANSI C63.19 standard). However, such dipole and loop antennashave a low bandwidth response.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a block diagram depicts a portable communicationdevice 200, such as a cellular telephone, in accordance with a firstembodiment which utilizes an antenna system 202 including an unbalancedantenna, such as a monopole antenna, which provides both a widebandwidth response and hearing aid compliance. Although the portablecommunication device 200 is depicted as a cellular telephone, theportable communication device can be implemented as a pager, a laptopcomputer with a wireless connection, a personal digital assistant with awireless connection, a navigational device used to receive signals fromsatellites, or the like. The antenna system 202 is utilized by theportable communication device 200 for receiving and transmitting radiofrequency (RF) signals, such as cellular, WiFi, or WiMAX signals.Transceiver circuitry 204 includes receiver circuitry and transmittercircuitry in a manner familiar to those skilled in the art. The receivercircuitry demodulates and decodes the RF signals to derive informationand is coupled to a controller 206 for use in accordance with thefunction(s) of the portable communication device 200.

The controller 206 also provides information to the transmittercircuitry of the transceiver circuitry 204 for encoding and modulatinginformation onto RF signals for transmission from the antenna system202. As is well-known in the art, the controller 206 is typicallycoupled to a memory device 208 and a user interface 210 to perform thefunctions of the portable communication device 200. Power controlcircuitry 212 generates and provides appropriate operational voltage andcurrent to, and defines a ground plane 214 for, components of theportable communication device 200, such as the controller 206, thetransceiver circuitry 204, the antenna system 202, and/or the userinterface 210. In this embodiment, the user interface 210 includes amicrophone 216, an earpiece speaker 218, a hands-free speaker 220, adisplay 222, and one or more key inputs 224, including, for example, akeypad 226. The elements of the portable communication device 200 areenclosed within a housing 228 except for portions of the user interface210 such as the display 222, the key inputs 224 and the keypad 226.

In accordance with the present embodiment, the earpiece speaker 218provides audio output for operation of the portable communication device200 during typical operation. Referring to FIG. 2B, orientation of theportable communication device 200 during typical operation places anopening 250 in the housing 228 of the portable communication device 200proximate a user's ear 254, the opening 250 providing audio output fromthe earpiece speaker 218 located behind the opening 250 to the user'sear 254. Similarly, an opening 256 in the housing 228 provides a user'sspeech as audio input to the microphone 216 located behind the opening256.

While the antenna system 202 is located in a bottom portion 258 of thehousing 252 of the portable communication device 200, such antennasystem 202 must be able to reduce the electromagnetic emissionsproximate the opening 250 for the earpiece speaker 218 in order to behearing aid compliant. Referring to FIG. 3A, a rear planar cutaway view300 of the portable communication device 200 depicts the antenna system202 in accordance with a first embodiment which utilizes an antennasystem design technique wherein the reduced electromagnetic emissionsare a result of the antenna design. The antenna system 202 in accordancewith the first embodiment includes the ground plane 214 defined by thepower control circuitry 212, a first element 302 and a second element304 mounted within the housing 252. The first element 302 is an active,unbalanced, non-dipole driven element, such as a monopole antennaelement, which is designed to resonate within one or more predeterminedfrequency bands for transmitting and receiving RF signals within thepredetermined frequency band(s). Where the portable communication device200 operates on cellular frequencies, one of the predetermined frequencybands is typically at or near 1900 MHz.

The second element 304 is a non-resonant structure (or at least isnon-resonating within the predetermined frequency band(s) where thefirst antenna element 302 transmits). The antenna volume of the firstelement 302 is a three-dimensional volume surrounding the first antennaelement 302 having X and Y dimensions as shown in FIG. 3A. TheX-dimension 306 corresponds to the width of the ground plane and theY-dimension 308 is defined by dimensions of the first and secondelements 302, 304. The second element 304 is located completely orpartially within the antenna volume of the first element 302 such thatthe second element 304 capacitively couples with the first element 302to create a partial loop response, such as a balanced or pseudo-balancedantenna response. The partial loop response is formed when the drivenunbalanced first element 302 couples capacitively to the non-resonantsecond element 304 while the second element 304 is connected to theground plane 214 of the portable communication device 200.

FIG. 3B is a bottom planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice 200 depicting the antenna system 202 including the first element302, a folded monopole antenna element, and the second element 304, aplanar element and showing a Z-dimension 310 of the antenna volume. Thefirst element 302 depicted in FIG. 3B is a folded monopole antennaelement such as a folded J antenna element. Referring to FIG. 3C, athree dimensional right rear bottom perspective cutaway view of theportable communication device 200 depicting the antenna system 202 isshown. As depicted in the rear planar cutaway view of FIG. 3D, thesecond element 304 is proximate to the folded monopole first antennaelement 302 and capacitively couples to the first element 302 forming aloop response 312 (i.e., a partial loop response within the antennavolume of the first element 304. The loop 312 created by the firstelement 302 and the second element 304 has a balanced antenna responseat a frequency band of interest. The frequency band of interest istypically the transmit band for the transceiver circuitry 204 (FIG. 2A),such as the GSM 1900 transmit band for a cellular telephone device.

While the first element 302 depicted in FIGS. 3A to 3D is a foldedmonopole antenna element, the first element 302 could also be anotherform of unbalanced antenna element such as an inverted L monopoleantenna element or a planar inverted F antenna element. When driven(i.e., transmitting), the first element 302 (isolated from the secondelement 304) provides an unbalanced response. FIG. 4A depicts anelectric field gradient diagram 400 of the unbalanced response of amonopole antenna element, where the asymmetry in the field gradientalong the length of the ground plane 214, i.e., the vertical directionof the diagram 400, indicates an unbalanced response. A balancedresponse of an antenna located at the bottom of the field gradientdiagram would create fields symmetrical along a center of the fieldgradient diagram as seen below in FIG. 5. The electric field gradientdiagram 400 is a diagram of a normalized radiation pattern of a baselineantenna system having a monopole antenna for transmitting and receivingradio frequency (RF) at or around 1900 MHz. FIG. 4B depicts a magneticfield gradient diagram 410 of the normalized radiation pattern of thebaseline antenna system having the monopole antenna and providing anunbalanced response when transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF)at or around 1900 MHz.

In the field gradient diagrams 400, 410, the darker region toward thebottom of the diagram indicates the highest fields (electric ormagnetic) due to the antenna's location. The gradients between colorsdecrease from this lower dark region to the lightest region(s) and thendecrease further to the dark regions located in the upper part of thediagram. By using the methodology described above in regards to FIGS. 1Aand 1B, three of the compliance areas 165 (other than the centercompliance area 175) having the highest gradients can be excluded todetermine the maximum field generated by the antenna system in the areaof the earpiece speaker 218. Thus, the maximum electric field hearingaid compliance gradient for the antenna system producing the electricfield gradient diagram 400 is 41.864 dB V/m (since this gradient passesthrough the center compliance area 175 which cannot be excluded).Likewise, the maximum magnetic field hearing aid compliance gradient forthe antenna system producing the magnetic field gradient diagram 410 is−12.2922 dB A/m by excluding the bottom row right compliance area 165(since the −12.2922 dB A/m magnetic field gradient passes through thenon-excludable center compliance area 175).

As described previously, the second element 304 is located within theantenna volume of the first antenna element 302 such that the secondelement 304 couples with the first antenna element 302 to create abalanced or pseudo-balanced antenna response (i.e., the partial loopresponse). FIG. 5 shows an electric field gradient diagram 500 of thebalanced antenna response for transmitting and receiving radio frequency(RF) at or around 1900 MHz of an antenna system incorporating both thefirst antenna element 302 and the second antenna element 304. Asexplained above, the balanced response of an antenna located at thebottom of the field gradient diagram would create fields symmetricalalong a center of the field gradient diagram. As can be seen from theelectric field gradient diagrams 400, 500, the balanced antenna systemwhich includes the first element 302 and the second element 304 (FIGS.3A to 3D) provides reduced electrical emissions within the control areas155. Not only are the differential fields within the control area 155reduced in the electric field gradient diagram 500 (as compared to theelectric field gradient diagram 400), but the magnitudes of thedifferential fields within the control area 155 are reduced. The maximumelectric field hearing aid compliance gradient for the antenna system202 including the first and second elements 302, 304 and producing theelectric field gradient diagram 500 is 36.6693 dB V/m (excluding thebottom row left and right compliance areas 165 and the middle row rightcompliance area 165), a reduction of 5.195 dB V/m from the unbalancedantenna system including only a first element 302 and exhibiting theelectric field gradient diagram 400 (FIG. 4A).

In the antenna system 202 in accordance with the first embodiment, theunbalanced antenna response of the first element 302 and the balancedantenna response of the combination of the first element 302 and thesecond element 304 provides a quasi-balanced response which incorporatesboth the unbalanced and the balanced response. This composite responsewhich includes both the unbalanced and the balanced response could begenerated by a predetermined structure of and a location of the secondelement or by an impedance element connected to the second element. Theimpedance element (not shown) could be connected to the second element304 to control the partial loop response, with the impedance value ofthe impedance element predetermined to provide a balanced antennaresponse within the predetermined frequency band. In this manner, theantenna system 202 can provide a composite response including both thebalanced antenna response and an unbalanced antenna response.

Referring to FIG. 6A, an electric field gradient diagram 600 depicts thecomposite balanced and unbalanced antenna response for transmitting andreceiving RF signals at or around 1900 MHz of the antenna system 202 inaccordance with the first embodiment, while FIG. 6B depicts a magneticfield gradient diagram 610 of the composite antenna response fortransmitting and receiving RF signals at or around 1900 MHz of theantenna system 202 in accordance with the first embodiment. As can beseen when comparing the electric field gradient diagram 600 to theelectric field gradient diagram 400 (FIG. 4A) and the magnetic fieldgradient diagram 610 to the magnetic field gradient diagram 410 (FIG.4B), the antenna system 202 in accordance with the first embodimentprovides reduced electrical and magnetic emissions within the hearingaid compliant control area 155 when transmitting RF signals at or around1900 MHz (i.e., the maximum electric field hearing aid compliancegradient for the antenna system producing the electric field gradientdiagram 600 is 38.3329 dB V/m (since this gradient passes through thecenter compliance area 175 which cannot be excluded and the top, middleand bottom right compliance areas 165 could all be excluded and themaximum magnetic field hearing aid compliance gradient for the antennasystem producing the magnetic field gradient diagram 410 is −14.1873 dBA/m since this magnetic field gradient passes through the non-excludablecenter compliance area 175).

FIG. 7 shows a graph 700 of free space return loss of the baselineantenna system having the electromagnetic field gradient response of thediagrams 400, 410 and the antenna system 202 in accordance with thefirst embodiment having the electromagnetic field gradient response ofdiagrams 600, 610. The frequency (in GHz) is plotted on the abscissa(i.e., the x-axis) 702 and return loss (in negative dB) is plotted onthe ordinate (i.e., the y-axis) 704. The free space return loss of thebaseline antenna system with only a monopole antenna element is shown online 710 and has good response at or around the GSM frequency of 850 MHzand the PCS frequency of 1900 MHz, which both are frequencies utilizedin many cellular telephone systems. While the second element 304 has aresponse shown by line 720 which shows that the second element 304 isnot resonant within the frequency band of interest around 1800 MHz. Thecomposite response of the first element 302 and the second element 304is shown by line 730 and also has good response at or around thefrequencies of 850 MHz and 1900 MHz. Thus it can be seen that theantenna system 202 in accordance with the first embodiment provides goodresponse at cellular telephone frequencies and will providing reducedelectromagnetic emissions in the hearing aid compliance control areas155 proximate to the earpiece speaker 218.

The second element 304 could also include a non-planar element, so longas the second element 304 is non-resonating within the predeterminedfrequency band of the first element 302 and functions to create apartial loop response when located within the antenna volume of thefirst antenna element 302. FIG. 8A depicts a rear planar cutaway view ofthe portable communication device 200 with the antenna system 202 inaccordance with a second embodiment wherein a non-planar element 802replaces the second element 304 from FIGS. 3A to 3D. The antenna volumeis proscribed in the rear planar view of FIG. 8A by an X-dimension 804of the antenna volume and a Y-dimension 806 of the antenna volume. FIG.8B is a bottom planar cutaway view of the portable communication device200 and more clearly depicts the non-planar element 802 of the antennasystem 202 in accordance with the second embodiment and also depicts aZ-dimension 808 of the antenna volume. FIG. 8C is a three dimensionalright rear bottom perspective cutaway view of the antenna system 202 ofthe portable communication device 200 wherein it can be clearly seenthat the second element 802 is a non-planar element.

The second element 304 (planar) or 802 (non-planar) could furtherinclude a helical coil element (with or without a dielectric core)functioning to create a partial loop response when located within theantenna volume of the first element 302. Referring to FIG. 9A, a rearplanar cutaway view of the portable communication device 200 depicts anantenna system 202 in accordance with a third embodiment. A helical coilelement 902 replaces the second element 304 from FIGS. 3A and 3B. AX-dimension 904 and a Y-dimension 906 are shown in the rear planar viewof FIG. 9A. FIG. 9B is a bottom planar cutaway view of the portablecommunication device 200 in accordance with the third embodiment andFIG. 9C is a front left bottom perspective cutaway view of the portablecommunication device 200 in accordance with the third embodiment, withboth FIGS. 9B and 9C depicting the helical coil element 902. AZ-dimension 908 of the three dimensional antenna volume is shown in FIG.9B. As seen in FIG. 9C, the antenna volume is shared by the firstelement 302, the second element 902 with a helical coil and thehands-free polyphonic speaker 220. In this arrangement, the helical coilsecond element 902 should be tuned such that both the helical coilsecond element 902 and the hands-free speaker 220 create a partial loopresponse within the antenna volume proscribed by the X, Y and Zdimensions 904, 906, 908.

FIG. 10 depicts a rear planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice 200 depicting an antenna system 202 in accordance with a fourthembodiment wherein the second antenna element is a planar antennaelement 1002. The planar element 1002 is printed on a printed circuitboard portion 1004 of the portable communication device 200, the printedcircuit board portion 1004 located within the antenna volume of thefirst element 302, having conductive traces printed thereon, and coupledto elements of the portable communication device 200 such as thecontroller 206 and the transceiver circuitry 204. In this embodiment,the printed circuit board portion 1004 in the antenna volume does notcarry ground traces so that it does not form any portion of the groundplane 214. In addition, while the first element 302 is curved and thesecond element 1002 includes a slanted bend in the fourth embodiment ofthe portable communication device 200 of FIG. 10, the first and secondelements 302, 1002 could also be squared off similar to the first andsecond elements 302, 304 of FIG. 3A. Those skilled in the art willrealize that the capacitive coupling between the first and secondelements 302, 304 is a function of the shape and length of the secondelement 304 and the distance between the first element 302 and thesecond element 304.

Referring to FIG. 11, a block diagram of the portable communicationdevice 200 which includes a rear planar cutaway view depicts an antennasystem 1102 in accordance with a fifth embodiment. The antenna system1102 includes the ground plane 214, the first element 302, and thesecond element 304 such as that shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The antennasystem 1102 also includes a switching device 1104. The switching device1104 is connected between the ground plane 214 and the second element304 and operates under the control of the controller 206. An engagesignal from the controller 206 closes the switch 1104 to connect thesecond element 304 to the ground plane 214 so that the second element304 creates the partial loop response within the antenna volume of thefirst element 302. A disengage signal from the controller 206 opens theswitch 1104 to disconnect the second element 304 from the ground plane214. The controller 206 provides the engage and disengage signals sothat the functionality of the first element 302 is reduced (i.e., theelectromagnetic emissions of the first element 302 are reduced) only forhearing aid compliant operation during transmission of RF signals fromthe first element 302. More specifically, the controller 206 generatesthe engage signal and provides the engage signal to the switching device1104 when the controller 206 provides signals to the transmittercircuitry of the transceiver circuitry 204 for modulation and subsequenttransmission from the antenna system 1102 as RF signals. The controller206 generates and provides the disengage signal to the switching device1104 when the controller 206 is not providing signals to the transmittercircuitry for modulation. Further logic could be added to the controller206 to open and close the switch 1104 in response to the frequency bandof operation (e.g., the 1900 MHz GSM frequency band).

Referring to FIG. 12, a flowchart 1200 illustrates an exemplary methodfor controlling the antenna system 1102 in accordance with the fifthembodiment by providing engage and disengage signals to the switchingdevice 1104 for operation of the switching device 1104 under the controlof the controller 206. The method for controlling the antenna system1102 begins by the controller 206 determining 1202 whether signals arebeing provided from the controller 206 to the transceiver circuitry 204for modulation by the transmitter circuitry and transmission as RFsignals from the first element 302 of the antenna system 202. Inaccordance with the fifth embodiment, the controller 206 provides 1204an engage signal to the switching device 1104 to connect th ground plane214 to the second element 304 to create a partial loop response withinthe antenna volume of the first element 302 when the controller 206provides signals for transmission from the first element 302 as radio RFsignals modulated at a frequency or frequencies within the predeterminedfrequency bands.

If the controller 206 determines 1202 that it is not providing signalsfor transmission from the first antenna element 302 as radio RF signalsmodulated at a frequency or frequencies within the predeterminedfrequency band, the controller 206 provides 1206 a disengage signal tothe switching element 1104 to disconnect the second element 304 from theground plane 214 to capacitively disengage the second element 304 fromthe first element 302. In this manner, the second element 304 reduceselectromagnetic emissions of the first element 302 to reduce hearing aidinterference only when the first antenna element 302 is transmitting RFsignals within the predetermined frequency band.

Referring next to FIG. 13, a rear planar cutaway view shows an antennasystem 1302 in accordance with a sixth embodiment. The antenna system1302 includes the first element 302 and the second element 304. Theantenna system 1302 also includes a first switching device 1304 coupledto the second element 304 through a first impedance element 1306 and asecond switching device 1310 coupled to the second element 304 through asecond impedance element 1308. The first impedance element 1306 has animpedance value predetermined to provide a balanced antenna response ofthe antenna system 1302 within a first frequency band. The secondimpedance element 1308 has an impedance value predetermined to provide abalanced antenna response of the antenna system 1302 within a secondfrequency band. The ground plane 214 is coupled to both the firstswitching device 1304 and the second switching device 1310. Thecontroller 206 is also coupled to both the first switching device 1304and the second switching device 1310 for selectably connecting anddisconnecting the second element 304 to and from the ground plane 214.

A first frequency band engage signal is provided from the controller 206to the first switching device 1304 to connect the second element 304 andthe first impedance element 1306 with the ground plane 214 to provide abalanced antenna response of the antenna system 1302 within the firstfrequency band when RF signals within the first frequency band are beingtransmitted from the first element 302. A second frequency band engagesignal is provided from the controller 206 to the second switchingdevice 1310 to connect the second element 304 and the second impedanceelement 1308 to the ground plane 214 to provide a balanced antennaresponse of the antenna system 1302 within the second frequency bandwhen RF signals within the second frequency band are being transmittedfrom the first element 302. Disengage signals are provided from thecontroller 206 to the first and second switching devices for selectabledisconnecting the second element 304 and the first and second impedanceelements 1306, 1310 from the ground plane 214.

In addition, a favorable impedance for providing a balanced antennaresponse in a third frequency band can be achieved by the controller 206providing engage signals to both the first and second switching devices1304, 1310 to connect the second element 304 through the first andsecond impedance devices 1306, 1308. Thus when the first element 302 isa folded monopole antenna element, the second element 304 and theswitching elements 1304, 1310 allow capacitive coupling within one tothree intended frequency band(s). If the intended band(s) is a singlehigh frequency band such as for DCS or PCS, the preferred coupling ofthe second element 304 to form the partial loop response within theantenna volume of the first element 302 requires using the firstswitching element 1304 and the first impedance device 1306. However, ifthe intended band(s) is a single low frequency band for e.g., AMPS orGSM, the preferred coupling of the second element 304 to form thepartial loop response within the antenna volume of the first element 302requires using the second switching element 1310 and the secondimpedance device 1308. For coupling to utilize either one or both of thehigh band and low band, the controller 206 uses both switching devices1304, 1310 to couple through both of the impedance devices 1306, 1308.In addition, when choosing impedance values and selecting frequencybands, there is more parameters for determining frequency band choicethan just the position of the first and/or second element 302, 304.Also, there will always be some coupling in unintended frequency bands.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1400 depicting operation of the portablecommunication device 200 in accordance with the sixth embodiment such asshown in FIG. 13, the controller 206 providing engage and disengagesignals to the first and second switching devices 1304, 1310 for controlof the second element 304. The method for tuning the antenna system 1302begins by the controller 206 determining 1402 whether signals are beingprovided from the controller 206 to the transceiver circuitry 204 formodulation by the transmitter circuitry and subsequent transmission asRF signals from the first element 302. In accordance with the sixthembodiment, when no RF signals are being transmitted from the firstelement 302, the controller 206 provides 1404 a disengage signal to thefirst switching device 1304 and provides 1406 a disengage signal to thesecond switching device 1310.

If the controller determines 1402 that signals are being provided to thetransceiver circuitry 204 for transmission as RF signals from the firstelement 302, the controller 206 next determines 1408 if the signals arebeing provided to the transceiver circuitry 204 for transmission withinthe first frequency band from the first element 302. If it is determined1408 that the signals are being provided to the transceiver circuitry204 for transmission from the first element 302 as RF signals within thefirst frequency band, the controller 206 provides 1410 an engage signalto the first switching device 1304 and provides 1412 a disengage signalto the second switching device 1310.

If it is determined 1408 that the signals are not being provided to thefirst element 302 for transmission therefrom as RF signals within thefirst frequency band, the controller 206 determines 1414 if the signalsare being provided to the transceiver circuitry 204 for transmissionwithin the second frequency band . If it is determined 1414 that thesignals are being provided to the transceiver circuitry 204 fortransmission from the first element 302 as RF signals within the secondfrequency band, the controller 206 provides 1416 a disengage signal tothe first switching device 1304 and provides 1418 an engage signal tothe second switching device 1310. If, on the other hand, the controller206 determines 1414 that the signals are not being provided to thetransceiver circuitry 204 for transmission from the first element 302 asRF signals within the second frequency band, the controller 206 provides1404 a disengage signal to the first switching device 1304 and provides1406 a disengage signal to the second switching device 1310.

In this manner, in accordance with the sixth embodiment, the secondelement 304 is engaged along with one of the impedence elements 1306,1308 to reduce electromagnetic emissions of the first element 302 inorder to reduce hearing aid interference within the first frequency bandonly when the first element 302 is transmitting RF signals within thefirst frequency band and to reduce hearing aid interference within thesecond frequency band only when the first element 302 is transmitting RFsignals within the second frequency band.

Referring next to FIG. 15, a block diagram of a portable communicationdevice 1500 includes a Bluetooth antenna in accordance with a seventhembodiment. The portable communication device 1500 in accordance withthe seventh embodiment utilizes an antenna system 1502 with anunbalanced antenna element, such as a folded monopole antenna 1504, as afirst element for providing both a wide bandwidth response and hearingaid compliance within cellular frequency bands such as 800 MHz and 1900MHz. The antenna system 1502 is utilized by the portable communicationdevice 1500 for both receiving and transmitting RF signals in a firstfrequency band, such as 800 MHz and 1900 MHz, via the folded monopoleantenna element 1504 and receiving and transmitting RF signals in aBluetooth frequency band, such as 2.4 GHz, via a Bluetooth antenna 1506functioning as a second element of the antenna system 1502. Firsttransceiver circuitry 204 includes receiver circuitry and transmittercircuitry for operation in the first frequency band (wherein the firstfrequency band does not include frequencies of the Bluetooth frequencyband) and is coupled to the controller 206 and the first element 1504.Second transceiver circuitry 1508 includes receiver circuitry andtransmitter circuitry for operation in the Bluetooth frequency band andis coupled to the controller 206 and the second element 1506.

FIG. 16 is a front planar cutaway view of the portable communicationdevice 200 in accordance with the seventh embodiment. The first element1504 is a folded monopole antenna element and resonates within the firstfrequency band for transmitting and receiving RF signals modulated atone or more frequencies within the first frequency band (i.e., acellular frequency band). The second element 1506 is non-resonatingwithin the first frequency band and located within an antenna volume ofthe first element 1504 to create a partial loop response within theantenna volume for reduction of electromagnetic emissions of the RFsignals transmitted from the first element 1504 to reduce hearing aidinterference. The second element 1506 resonates within a secondfrequency band, such as the Bluetooth frequency band of 2.4 GHz, fortransmitting and receiving RF signals modulated at one or morefrequencies within the second frequency band. Thus, the second element1506 provides dual functionality. With appropriate optimization ofparameters such as shape, length and distance from each other, of thefirst and second elements capacitive coupling can be achieved foroperation in accordance with the embodiment by creating a partial loopresponse within the antenna volume of the first element 1504.

FIG. 17A is an electric field gradient diagram 1700 of a radiationpattern of an antenna system for transmitting and receiving RF signalsat or around 1880 MHz without a Bluetooth antenna element in the antennavolume, while FIG. 17B is a magnetic field gradient diagram 1710 of theradiation pattern of the antenna system for transmitting and receivingRF signals at or around 1880 MHz without the additional Bluetoothantenna element in the antenna volume. The maximum electric fieldhearing aid compliance gradient for the antenna system producing theelectric field gradient diagram 1700 is 39.9187 dB V/m (since thisgradient passes through the center compliance area 175 which cannot beexcluded and the top and middle right compliance areas 165 could beexcluded). The maximum magnetic field hearing aid compliance gradientfor the antenna system producing the magnetic field gradient diagram1710 is −14.6821 dB A/m since this magnetic field gradient passesthrough the non-excludable center compliance area 175 and the middleright and the bottom center and right compliance areas 165 areexcludable.

For comparison therewith, FIG. 18A is an electric field gradient diagram1800 of the antenna response of the antenna system 1502 in accordancewith the seventh embodiment wherein the first element 1504 transmits andreceives RF signals at or around 1880 MHz and the second element 1506 isa Bluetooth antenna element for transmitting and receiving RF signals atthe Bluetooth frequency band at 2.5 GHz, and FIG. 18B is a magneticfield gradient diagram 1810 of the composite antenna response fortransmitting and receiving RF signals at or around 1880 MHz of theantenna system 1502 in accordance with the seventh embodiment whereinthe second element 1506 is a Bluetooth antenna element. As can be seenfrom the comparison, tuning the antenna assembly 1502 within thefrequency band at or around 1880 MHz in accordance with the seventhembodiment provides reduced RF emissions within the control area 155even when the second antenna element 1506 can function as a Bluetoothantenna element. The maximum electric field hearing aid compliancegradient for the antenna system producing the reduced electric fieldgradient diagram 1800 is 34.5709 dB V/m when excluding the three rightcompliance areas 165 (as compared with 39.9187 dB V/m of FIG. 17A).Similarly, the maximum magnetic field hearing aid compliance gradientfor the antenna system producing the magnetic field gradient diagram1810 is −17.5441 dB A/m since this magnetic field gradient passesthrough the non-excludable center compliance area 175 (as compared with−17.6821 dB V/m of FIG. 17B).

Thus it can be seen that methods and apparati have been disclosed whichadvantageously provides a tunable antenna system in a portablecommunication device which produces reduced electric field and magneticfield behavior near an earpiece speaker of the portable communicationdevice without significantly impacting the transmission and receptionefficiency of the portable communication device. In this manner, ahearing aid compliant portable communication device is provided whichreduces electromagnetic emissions at or near the earpiece speakerwithout reducing operation of the portable communication device'santenna system. While at least one exemplary embodiment has beenpresented in the foregoing detailed description of the disclosure, itshould be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist.

In addition, in this document, relational terms such as first andsecond, top and bottom, and the like are used solely to distinguish oneentity or action from another entity or action without necessarilyrequiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between suchentities or actions. The terms “includes”, “including”, or any othervariation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, suchthat a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list ofelements does not include only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “includes . . . a” doesnot, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additionalidentical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus thatcomprises the element.

It will also be appreciated that embodiments of the disclosure describedin this document may include one or more conventional processors orcontrollers and unique stored program instructions that control the oneor more controllers to implement, in conjunction with certainnon-controller circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of theportable communication device described (where the non-controllercircuits may include an RF receiver and/or transceiver, clock circuits,power source circuits, and user input/output devices). As such, thesefunctions may be interpreted as steps of a method to perform antennatuning of the portable communication device. Alternatively, some or allfunctions could be implemented by a state machine that has no storedprogram instructions, or in one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certainof the functions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, acombination of the two approaches could also be used.

Thus, antenna systems for a portable communication device in accordancewith the embodiments have been described herein as well as methods andmeans for tuning the antenna system in accordance with the embodiments.Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill, notwithstandingpossibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, forexample, available time, current technology, and economicconsiderations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosedherein will be readily capable of generating such software instructionsand programs and integrated circuits with minimal experimentation.

It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplaryembodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope,applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, theforegoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the artwith a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention, it being understood that various changes may be made inthe function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplaryembodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A portable electronic device comprising: an earpiecespeaker for generating audio signals from received electrical signalsand for providing the audio signals as audible output; an antenna systemhaving: a ground plane; a first element with a driven unbalanced antennaelement resonating within a first predetermined frequency band fortransmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals modulated at oneor more frequencies within the first predetermined frequency band; and asecond element, located within an antenna volume of the first element,having: a driven antenna element, resonating within a secondpredetermined frequency band that does not overlap the firstpredetermined frequency band, for transmitting and receiving RF signalsmodulated at one or more frequencies within the second predeterminedfrequency band, wherein the second element creates a partial loopresponse within the antenna volume when connected to the ground planewhile reducing electromagnetic fields of RF signals transmitted by thefirst element at locations proximate to the earpiece speaker, whereinthe second element is non-resonating within the first predeterminedfrequency band; transceiver circuitry, coupled to the antenna system,having: transmitter circuitry for modulating signals for transmissionfrom the antenna system as RF signals; and receiver circuitry fordemodulating RF signals received by the antenna system to generatedemodulated signals; and a controller, coupled to the transceivercircuitry and the earpiece speaker, for providing the receivedelectrical signals to the earpiece speaker based on the demodulatedsignals.
 2. The portable communication device in accordance with claim1, wherein the first element comprises: a folded monopole antenna, andthe second predetermined frequency band is a 2.4 GHz frequency band. 3.The portable communication device in accordance with claim 1, whereinthe first element comprises an antenna element selected from the groupof antenna elements including: a monopole antenna, an inverted Lmonopole antenna element, a folded monopole antenna element, a folded Jmonopole antenna element, and a planar inverted F antenna.
 4. Theantenna system in accordance with claim 3, wherein the firstpredetermined frequency band includes a higher frequency band and alower frequency band, and wherein the first element comprises: a foldedmonopole antenna element, and wherein the second element forms a firstresonant structure when resonating within the higher frequency band andforms a second resonant structure when resonating within the lowerfrequency band, wherein the first resonant structure has a firstimpedance value and the second resonant structure has a second impedancevalue.
 5. The portable communication device in accordance with claim 1,wherein the antenna system further comprises: a first switching device,coupled to the ground plane, the second element, and the controller,wherein the controller sends an engage signal to the first switchingdevice to connect the second element to the ground plane when thecontroller is providing signals to the transmitter circuitry formodulating, and wherein the controller sends a disengage signal to thefirst switching device to disconnect the second element from the groundplane when the controller is not providing signals to the transmittercircuitry for modulating.
 6. The portable electronic device inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the first predetermined frequency bandincludes a first frequency band and a second frequency band, and whereinthe antenna system further comprises: a first switching device, coupledto the second element, the ground plane, and the controller; and asecond switching device, coupled to the second element, the groundplane, and the controller, wherein the controller sends an engage signalto the first switching device to connect the second element to theground plane when the controller is providing signals to the transmittercircuitry for modulation in the first frequency band, wherein thecontroller sends a disengage signal to the first switching device todisconnect the second element from the ground plane when the controlleris not providing signals to the transmitter circuitry for modulation inthe first frequency band, wherein the controller sends an engage signalto the second switching device to connect the second element to theground plane when the controller is providing signals to the transmittercircuitry for modulation in the second frequency band, and wherein thecontroller sends a disengage signal to the second switching device todisconnect the second element from the ground plane when the controlleris not providing signals to the transmitter circuitry for modulation inthe second frequency band.
 7. The portable communication device inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the second element includes anon-resonating element selected from the group of non-resonatingelements comprising: a planar element, a non-planar element, a helicalcoil element, and a helical coil element including a dielectric core. 8.The portable communication device in accordance with claim 1, furthercomprising: an impedance element connected to the second element.
 9. Theportable communication device in accordance with claim 8, wherein theimpedance element has an impedance value associated therewith, theimpedance value predetermined to provide a balanced antenna responsewithin the first predetermined frequency band, the antenna systemthereby providing a composite response including both the balancedantenna response and an unbalanced antenna response.
 10. The portablecommunication device in accordance with claim 1 further comprising: aprinted circuit board coupled to the controller and the transceivercircuitry and having conductive traces printed thereon, wherein thesecond element comprises a planar antenna element printed on the printedcircuit board.